Honda Car Forum

My 1990 honda accord won't start. It was working fine, and I woke up in the morning to go to work and it wouldn't start. The fuel pump is getting power, filter is good. Couple questions..How can I tell if I am getting spark besides the old screwdriver test? Does a voltage meeter work? If it's getting spark, and the fuel pump is working, and filter is good, what else can I try? I pulled the spark plug cable off of the distributor and it has a white jelly substance on all the ends. Is that normal? Someone egged my car the other night, is there something someone could have done to play a cruel joke?Thanks

Those cars are notorious for having the igniter go out. The igniter is with the distributor. It's a little square that is about 1.5" x 1.5" x .25" held in by a screw. Just in case you didn't already know.

A salvage yard will sell you a complete distributor to install in your honda....be sure to check the position of your rotor and reference mark the distributor on the engine....good luck

the white jelly is normal, its called dielectric grease. the simplest test is pull a spark plug wire off the plug and have someone crank it over. hold the wire next to the block and you should hear and see the spark jump. if you dont hear or see anything your ignition module is probably gone. the other way to check is go to walmart (or an auto parts store, but walmart is cheaper) and get some starting fluid. spray some into the air intake and crank it over. if it starts on starting fluid its a fuel problem, if it doesnt its a spark problem.

You are on the right track, check for spark at the coil wire and use the ether in the aie intake, but if you don't have spark, make sure that the rotor is turning, a broken timing belt won't turn the rotor and give you the simptoms of a bad ignitor

90 and 91 is notorious of having bad igniter in the distributor. also check your main relay , part#39400-SM4-003. but i would really check your igniter first.